Bridger Range

S1.5, winds Mod from N, OVC ~ 1400

6-8” of cold snow at Bradley’s Meadow (7,800’) but about 4-5 inches of isothermal snow and a M/F crust interface below.

if temps drop overnight, this could be a problematic layer.

winds scouring some parts of Bradley’s ridgeline and depositing 4f to 1f slabs 

We were above the entrance to Exit Chute and triggered a slough slide that slid down one of the gullies that emptied into PK bowl. It appears to have followed an existing slide path, terminating in the top of what looked to be a significant existing avalanche runout. The slide looks pretty wide but not deep. 

Saw many recent looking wet loose avalanches on east facing slopes at Bridger. We got a good look at the debris pile from one in Z chute and it looked big enough to bury a person (D2) and had run far past the cat track into south bowl.

We encountered a lot of variation in ski penetration with ~1' of loose melt forms in places on north and east facing slopes ~8k' in elevation.

This wet loose avalanche is a great example of where they often occur. Rocks absorb extra heat from the sun and can quickly melt and destabilize the snow. Either move under areas like this early in the morning (as we did), or if you have to travel under them later in the day, move quickly.

This wet loose avalanche is a great example of where they often occur. Rocks absorb extra heat from the sun and can quickly melt and destabilize the snow. Either move under areas like this early in the morning (as we did), or if you have to travel under them later in the day, move quickly.

NE facing ridgeline near Hidden Couloir was touchy, with a 6-8” stiff wind slab breaking quite easily underfoot. Not the first person to ski Hidden, so observed this slab was not propagating far, but was breaking easily as temps heated up. 

"Today (Saturday, 4/19), I triggered a small soft-slab avalanche at about 7,700' on a E-NE aspect on the headwall between Frazier Lake and Angier Lake in the northern Bridgers. The slide was maybe 6" deep, 20' wide and ran 100-200 feet and involved only the new storm snow over the icy, thick crust underneath. No one was caught or injured, though I had a bit of a scare because my dog was right in the path (luckily she outran it)." 

"Today (Saturday, 4/19), I triggered a small soft-slab avalanche at about 7,700' on a E-NE aspect on the headwall between Frazier Lake and Angier Lake in the northern Bridgers. The slide was maybe 6" deep, 20' wide and ran 100-200 feet and involved only the new storm snow over the icy, thick crust underneath. No one was caught or injured, though I had a bit of a scare because my dog was right in the path (luckily she outran it)."